The Latest from Boing Boing

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• Excerpts from Stross's upcoming Rule 34
• Hula-hooping from the hoop's point of view
• Boing Boing's secret lair in the Alps
• Reasons people were arrested at the Toronto G20
• Leather steampunk clown-mask
• Paul Krugman: Rule by rentiers favors billionaires, Chinese bond-holders over jobs and homeowners
• Richest pastors in Nigeria
• The Internet is Coming
• Advice from a dog on keeping cool in summer heat (photo from Boing Boing Flickr Pool)
• Hero of quadroplegic game controllers to retire, replacement needed
• WATCHPONIES: Watchmen/My Little Pony mashup
• IMF: We wuz hacked
• #611nonukes: photos, video from Japan anti-nuclear protests
• Self-reproducing 3D printer for $500
• Seal Contact (photo from Boing Boing Flickr Pool)
• Ontario publicly funded Catholic school bans rainbows, appropriates student donations for LGBT cause and gives them to Catholic charity
• Super Goblin War Machine: more crushinger!
• Rescue Tape
• Lobbynomics: Canadian Chamber of Commerce manufactures fake $30 billion counterfeiting loss
• Sesame street aliens discover dubstep

Excerpts from Stross's upcoming Rule 34 Posted: 12 Jun 2011 05:12 AM PDT Charlie Stross has been publishing excerpts from his fantastic upcoming novel Rule 34, a police procedural technothriller in the vein of his earlier Halting State, about the cops who are in charge of tracking down vicious, perverse memes that traverse the Internet and emerge in the physical world. It's full of weird consequences of 3D printing, networked investigation, panopticon policing, and European privacy legislation. It's funny, thought-provoking, and very, very odd -- pure Stross. I've got a full review scheduled for July 5, but in the meantime, you might enjoy an early look at the book: Police segways come with blues and twos, Taser racks and overdrive: But if you go above walking pace, they invariably lean forward until you resemble a character in an old Roadrunner cartoon. Looking like Wile E. Coyote is undignified, which is not a good way to impress the senior management whether or not you're angling for promotion, especially in the current political climate. (Not that you are angling for promotion, but . . . politics.) So you ride sedately towards Comely Bank Road, and the twitching curtains and discreet perversions of Stockbridge. Crime and architecture are intimately related. In the case of the red stone tenements and Victorian villas of Morningside, it's mostly theft from cars and burglary from the aforementioned posh digs. You're still logged in as you ride past the permanent log-jam of residents' Chelsea Tractors--those such as live here can afford to fill up their hybrid SUVs, despite the ongoing fuel crunch--and the eccentric and colourful boutique shops. You roll round a tight corner and up an avenue of big stone houses with tiny wee gardens fronting the road until you reach the address Sergeant McDougall gave you. Some notes from my review: "As with Charlie's previous novel in this milieu, Halting State, Rule 34 shines as a super-smart futuristic exercise in public policing. Stross's future cops are both victims and employers of a surveillance panopticon, one tempered by thick eurocrat regulation and adaptive criminals. These cops aren't just legal enforcers, they're part of a high-tech, evidence-led, scientifically grounded security strategy that has been refactored to render policing as bloodless and procedural as possible, to deploy genuine science against the cop's vaunted street instincts, and to nudge bad guys into going good before they do something arrest-worthy. This is my favorite kind of science fiction: rigorous, playful, and challenging." Rule 34 (first excerpt) Rule 34: Part Two (second excerpt) (Disclosure: Charlie and I are presently working on a novel, Rapture of the Nerds, together -- also, I'm overdue on my next volley, sorry, Charlie!)

Hula-hooping from the hoop's point of view Posted: 12 Jun 2011 05:05 AM PDT Laura and Nick Saik, a brother and sister team in Alberta, attached a small, wide-angle camera to the inside of a hula-hoop and then recorded a hulaing session from the hoop's point of view. It's a great piece of video, in which Laura Saik comes across as a whirling dervish while the skybox reels overhead and around and around. GO PRO ON HULA HOOP (via Kottke)

Boing Boing's secret lair in the Alps Posted: 11 Jun 2011 09:47 PM PDT SummitPost image Our intrepid moderator Antinous has settled on the location of the next Boing Boing secret lair. It will be in the Austrian Alps. Two 6,500 feet peaks in eastern Tyrol -- Grosse Kinigat (above) and Rosskopf -- are currently for sale with an asking price of approximately $170,000 each. Once we've secured the real estate we will of course advise you of the location. We kindly ask for your discretion`though, especially as the buyer is forbidden from fencing off the mountains and must not deny right of way for anyone just passing through. "Twin peaks up for sale in Austria" (BBC Europe)

Reasons people were arrested at the Toronto G20 Posted: 11 Jun 2011 03:22 PM PDT Spotted on a phone-pole in Toronto's Parkdale, a sign detailing some of the reasons people were arrested at last year's G20 summit, which saw over $1 billion spent and the largest mass-arrest in Canadian history.   Violent suppression of protest at Toronto's G20 - CBC documentary ... Byron Sonne: Canadian security geek jailed for taunting G20 ... You Should Have Stayed Home - Toronto G20 - Boing Boing Toronto cops who removed their name-tags during the G20 to avoid ... G20 Toronto cop who was afraid of girl blowing soap bubbles sues ... Toronto cops justify extreme G20 measures with display of LARPing ... Toronto's secret ID law used to arrest G20 protestor - Boing Boing Canadian cops' history of agents provocateurs and the G20 - Boing ... Arrested for blowing bubbles at the G20 in Toronto? - Boing Boing Globe and Mail journalist arrested and kettled at G20 Toronto ... Toronto Police appologize for G20 - Boing Boing G20 police used imaginary law to jail harass demonstrators and ... Just a mellow afternoon at the G20 - Boing Boing

Leather steampunk clown-mask Posted: 11 Jun 2011 03:17 PM PDT Ukrainian steampunk leatherworkers Bob Basset have gone to the circus with their "Red Clown Steampunk Leather Mask." Can't sleep, clown will fetish me! Red Clown Steampunk Leather Mask

Paul Krugman: Rule by rentiers favors billionaires, Chinese bond-holders over jobs and homeowners Posted: 11 Jun 2011 03:01 PM PDT Writing in the NYT, Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman explains how creditor-friendly economic policies create "rule by rentiers," an economic situation that doesn't create good jobs or help homeowners: While the ostensible reasons for inflicting pain keep changing, however, the policy prescriptions of the Pain Caucus all have one thing in common: They protect the interests of creditors, no matter the cost. Deficit spending could put the unemployed to work -- but it might hurt the interests of existing bondholders. More aggressive action by the Fed could help boost us out of this slump -- in fact, even Republican economists have argued that a bit of inflation might be exactly what the doctor ordered -- but deflation, not inflation, serves the interests of creditors. And, of course, there's fierce opposition to anything smacking of debt relief. Who are these creditors I'm talking about? Not hard-working, thrifty small business owners and workers, although it serves the interests of the big players to pretend that it's all about protecting little guys who play by the rules. The reality is that both small businesses and workers are hurt far more by the weak economy than they would be by, say, modest inflation that helps promote recovery. No, the only real beneficiaries of Pain Caucus policies (aside from the Chinese government) are the rentiers: bankers and wealthy individuals with lots of bonds in their portfolios. Rule by Rentiers (Thanks, Amelia_G!)

Richest pastors in Nigeria Posted: 11 Jun 2011 03:24 PM PDT Excited by the richest people in Africa list in Forbes, Nii Thompson has compiled a list of the five richest spiritual leaders in Africa: "Never mind deferring gratification. That is now the preserve of Tibetan monks, an endangered species!" Bishop David Oyedepo Affiliation: Living Faith World Outreach Ministry, aka Winners Chapel Estimated net worth: $150 million Chris Oyakhilome Church: Believers' Loveworld Ministries, a.k.a Christ Embassy Estimated net worth: $30 million - $50 million Temitope Joshua Church: Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) Estimated net worth: $10 million - $15 million Matthew Ashimolowo Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) Estimated net worth: $6 million - $10 million Chris Okotie Church: Household of God Church Net worth: $3 million -$10 million Forbes: The Five Richest Pastors In Nigeria

The Internet is Coming Posted: 11 Jun 2011 02:28 PM PDT Found on Reddit, from user lcdsallysystem. Via Nerdcore. (thanks, Tara McGinley)

Advice from a dog on keeping cool in summer heat (photo from Boing Boing Flickr Pool) Posted: 10 Jun 2011 06:55 PM PDT Photographer and Boing Boing reader Steve O. shared this wonderful photo in the Boing Boing Flickr pool. Link: "Ninety Eight In the Shade"

Hero of quadroplegic game controllers to retire, replacement needed Posted: 11 Jun 2011 12:16 PM PDT Ed sez, "With a retired Bozeman engineer's 70th birthday approaching, disabled gamers say they fear there will be no one to replace Yankelevitz, who has sustained quadriplegic game controllers for 30 years almost entirely by himself. The retired aerospace engineer hand makes the controllers with custom parts in his Montana workshop, offering them at a price just enough to cover parts."

WATCHPONIES: Watchmen/My Little Pony mashup Posted: 11 Jun 2011 09:28 AM PDT [Video Link] (via Rick Marshall) RELATED: Did you know that "My Little Pony" has older, male fans that refer to themselves as "bronies"? Each day, out-of-work computer programmer Luke Allen self-medicates by watching animated ponies have magical adventures. The 32-year-old, who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, loves his daily fix of My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, and he's not alone. He's part of a growing group of "bronies" ("bro ponies") -- men who are fans of a TV show largely intended for a much younger audience. "First we can't believe this show is so good, then we can't believe we've become fans for life, then we can't believe we're walking down the pink aisle at Toys R Us or asking for the girl's toy in our Happy Meal," Allen said in an e-mail to Wired.com. "Then we can't believe our friends haven't seen it yet, then we can't believe they're becoming bronies too." Now you do. (Wired News)

IMF: We wuz hacked Posted: 11 Jun 2011 09:21 AM PDT The New York Times reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been hit with what is described as "a large and sophisticated cyberattack whose dimensions are still unknown." The breach happened before the IMF's managing director was accused of trying to rape a hotel worker. The fund, which manages financial crises around the world and is the repository of highly confidential information about the fiscal condition of many nations, told its staff and its board of directors about the attack on Wednesday. But it did not make a public announcement. Several senior officials with knowledge of the attack said it was both sophisticated and serious. "This was a very major breach," said one official, who said that it had occurred over the last several months, even before Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French politician who ran the fund, was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a chamber maid in a New York hotel.   IMF considered harmful - Boing Boing Amid global recession, new IMF strategy: raping commoners one at a ... Middleweight public intellectuals defend Dominique Strauss-Kahn ... List of economists involved in violent sex crimes, for Ben Stein ... Hacker and internet troll Weev befriends DSK: "We're all like one ...

#611nonukes: photos, video from Japan anti-nuclear protests Posted: 11 Jun 2011 09:23 AM PDT [Video link] Large anti-nuclear protests marking 3 months since the Fukushima nuclear disaster are under way in Japan today, with solidarity demonstrations in other countries around the world. Background in this previous post. Live-tweeted videos and images are coming in via the #611nonukes hashtag on Twitter, and #share611. Photos below by freelance writer Minori Okuda (blog, Twitter). UPDATE: A New York Times article by Hiroko Tabuchi is here, and a USA Today item is here.

Self-reproducing 3D printer for $500 Posted: 11 Jun 2011 08:50 AM PDT Jmgiacalone sez, "The future is 3D printing, and it has never been more accessible. For less than $500 you can get your very own desktop 3D printer, capable of printing in a range of plastics and different colours. These machines can be assembled in a weekend, and are a great way to get into 3D printing and access this exciting technology. eMAKER are offering a limited run of 100 eMAKER Huxley RepRap 3D printers, for a limited time, for the promotional price of $475." eMAKER Huxley 3D printer kits (Thanks, Jmgiacalone!)

Seal Contact (photo from Boing Boing Flickr Pool) Posted: 10 Jun 2011 06:56 PM PDT Photographer and Boing Boing reader John K. Goodman captured the wonderful shot here, and shared it in the Boing Boing Flickr pool.

Ontario publicly funded Catholic school bans rainbows, appropriates student donations for LGBT cause and gives them to Catholic charity Posted: 11 Jun 2011 08:46 AM PDT A reader writes, "St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario [ed: a publicly funded institution, due to a quirk of Canada's constitutional history] has banned rainbows from a display in an anti-homophobia event. Worse, they're also banning literature on sexual orientation, sexual health and safe sex. And students were prevented from donating money raised at the event to LGBT organizations, instead being forced to donate to a Catholic shelter for the homeless. This is just another symptom of why the United Nations declared publicly-funded separate school boards a violation of human rights."

Super Goblin War Machine: more crushinger! Posted: 11 Jun 2011 10:17 AM PDT Goblin War Machine, the last Flash game I got seriously addicted to, has just published a sequel, called, naturally, Super Goblin War Machine. Well, that's me for the rest of the week. ...Aaaand, courtesy of Big Block Games, a s33kr1t link to a lifetime's free membership to the Goblin War Machine expansion, Dwarf Descent.

Rescue Tape Posted: 11 Jun 2011 08:32 AM PDT Rescue tape is a brand name for silicone tape. I've been using it (and other brands) on and off for a decade now and if there's one thing I had to have and couldn't live without, it's this. I have a roll in my car, in my laptop bag, and virtually everywhere else. I've repaired dozens of pipe leaks with it and have even used it when I badly cut my arm clearing brush miles from a hospital. Supposedly it can even be used as an emergency fan belt. I've never had to try it, but I can say it will patch a radiator hose and it even worked (for a little while) on the high pressure side of my car's air conditioner! There are lots of day-to-day uses for it as well. For my electronics work I use it to insulate the underside of the boards I'm soldering so they don't short out, and it has no problem dealing with 750 F high temp soldering either. The best part is that it's cheap enough that I even use it like shrink wrap, especially helpful if I manage to buy something that has a lot of long unruly pieces that need to be bound together. -- Jeremy Pavleck Rescue Silicone Repair Tape $10 Don't forget to submit a tool!

Lobbynomics: Canadian Chamber of Commerce manufactures fake $30 billion counterfeiting loss Posted: 11 Jun 2011 02:44 AM PDT Michael Geist sez, "This week the Canadian IP Council, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce's IP lobby arm, issued a release placing Canadian counterfeiting costs at $30 billion per year. That figure is being used to lobby the government to enact new border measure provisions that could lead to the searching of luggage as travellers enter Canada. It is tempting to dismiss the claims on the basis that the policy rationale makes no sense - if counterfeit toothpaste is indeed "coming across the border in droves" as the Chamber claims, searching traveller luggage won't address that issue. Moreover, it should be noted that even the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement features an exception for de minimis imports that an individual might carry as it recognizes that addressing counterfeiting concerns does not involve targeting individuals. Yet given the decision to resurrect the bogus $30 billion figure, it is important to again call attention to its origins and how it is simply a fabrication." Canadian Chamber of Commerce Floats Fake $30 Billion Counterfeiting Claim (Thanks, Michael!)

Sesame street aliens discover dubstep Posted: 11 Jun 2011 11:02 AM PDT The Sesame Street aliens are clearly the universal incarnate avatars of dubstep anyway, but jrbrewin dialed it up to 11. [Video Link via @ioerror & @theglitchmob]

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